Pride and Prejudice Fan Fiction

NOTE: Charlotte refused to let go of Hayden Bryce (my story Best Laid Plans Go Awry) ... However, I simply have them meeting each other in London. What can I say...she INSISTED if she got pulled in Collins was NOT an option LOL.

Unlocked Cage

Previously:

Charlotte? Miss Bingley had no interest in going to Scotland even though Lady Bryce did have a young infant daughter and was now visiting the Lucas'. However, considering her own personal goals-not to mention her situation- Caroline would make the visit tomorrow.

Talk With Charlotte

CH. 10

Any storm which had brewed, and belted out its wrath, had now blown over. Morning light streamed through the windows, casting a gentle glow on the droplets that still clung to the edges of the Lucas's roof. The parlor, awash with the new day's brightness, felt refreshed and serene. The walls, adorned with delicate floral wallpaper, seemed to come alive in the sunlight. A grand piano, its surface gleaming in the morning rays, awaited the touch of a musician. The furniture, with its plush cushions and warm wood, sat ready for the day's visitors. And Miss Bingley sat on their sofa discussing her dilemma with Lady Bryce.

"First, please, call me Charlotte," Lady Bryce smiled.

"Charlotte, your kindness and informality are appreciated. It seems so many people are turning their backs on me since I have chosen to step away from the upper class. Some accuse me of not appreciating what my father worked so hard for. Therefore, I am truly delighted to address by your name. However, I hope you understand if I maintain a more formal address when we are out in public."

"Yes, I do. I have gotten so used to looser ways of doing things around Lord Bryce's home that I have difficulty adjusting when we make our yearly visit." When Caroline looked at her in shock…she could not help it, formalities were all she had ever known; Lady Bryce chuckled. "Not all of Scotland is as informal as Lord Bryce and I; it simply depends on where you go. And, if you wish, I will continue to call you Miss Bingley."

"I think I would rather like to hear my name," Caroline confessed, biting her bottom lip and trailing the arm of the comfortable sofa with the tip of her fingers.

"In that case, Caroline, what can I do for you? You did come with something on your mind, I can tell it. Now, out with it."

"I need a position, my…dear…brother, Mr. Hurst is making that extremely difficult—at least around here." When asked why that was the case, Caroline explained—the best she could—without back-stabbing—the situation. "I am not concerned about Mr. and Mrs. Bingley only because in the past few months they have blocked his access to their money, refused to do business ventures with him, and she gave her father some very expensive jewelry to lock up in his safe. My sister, Mrs. Hurst, has let servants go accusing them of stealing, but I think Mrs. Bingley must have her share of doubts."

"Why do you say that?"

"Would you give an ex-servant of yours a good reference if you thought they were truly stealing from you?"

"I see." Charlotte looked at her and knew some of the accusations going around about what Caroline supposedly did, or did not know, and why the lady should not be hired as a governess. "Do you mind answering a personal question? It may appear as if it has nothing to do with being a governess?"

"Ask anything you want. If I have the answer I will give it to you gladly."

"You went to boarding schools your whole life, Caroline, attended fancy balls, wore the latest style of dresses. And yet, now…you wear the plainest of dresses, your hair is not out of order, you take good care of it, but nothing shouts you have ever been aware of the latest fashion. It seems as if you have put yourself into a gilded cage. Why?"

"Oh, but Charlotte, I have in fact stepped out of one." Caroline's face shone so brightly it truly startled Lady Bryce.

"If that is the case, answer me this." Charlotte did not show just how excited Caroline's reply had made her. "Could you honestly step back into one, for the sake of another?"

"What do you mean by that? Because if you are asking me to go back to what I was around at the Hursts, no, I am sorry, I will not lie—that I cannot nor will I do."

"No," Charlotte shook her head. "I meant, could you handle—physically handle—staying on one floor, never leaving it with your charge—unless they willingly asked to go outside?"

"If I am told the situation and what is expected of me then…" Recalling Mrs. Thatcher's words, "I would be willing to make the commitment. How old is the child?"

"Rosie is fourteen, mostly blind from Scarlet Fever." Lady Bryce explained about Carlisle Hudson, the name meant nothing to Caroline whose family had lost their main home to the Browns before they had sold it to another gentleman who in then in turn sold it himself. "He cannot keep governesses for his niece and quit trying but, I guess, a few of his workmen convinced him to try again."

"Is she that unruly? Undisciplined?"

"No, she appears to be that unreachable." Charlotte confessed she wondered if it were not the quality of governesses being sent the gentleman's ways.

"And they not ever take her outside?"

"Supposedly, they all have put their foot down at one point, never goes well. And, from my understanding, it all goes downhill from there."

"I understand the second part." Miss Caroline clasped her hands. "I received a reply, one I thought was in a secure position after the Bennets, but…" The lady took a deep breath. "Apparently they are moving down here and caught wind of what Mr. Hurst has been saying. They have opted to believe him and are not in need of my services. I really do know what I am doing, test me, please… I am willing to take that position; honest."

Charlotte quizzed her on history, language, French, had her play on her parents' pianoforte, discussed basic politics, and she even tested her cooking skills.

"I am amazed, Caroline. You far exceeded my expectations. Clearly, Mr. Hurst is smearing your good name, Lord Bryce could easily put a stop to it."

"Could he do it without involving the courts? Or with me present? I can be brave on many things, but court proceedings. I am sorry, but I shudder at those things." Caroline still recoiled over events she had seen others go through, not to mention recalling her father talking about his own when it came to losing his first estate.

"I will talk to Lord Bryce when he comes back with my father, and we will send a letter to Mr. Hudson speaking highly of you and denouncing what Mr. Hurst has been spreading anywhere he goes."

"I cannot thank you enough, Charlotte."